Financial planner Scott Fessler was a highly energetic, athletic young father when at the age of 33, he was in a near-fatal motorcycle crash. Scott suffered fractures to his cervical vertebrae, resulting in paralysis from the neck down.
Immediately after the July 2006 accident, Scott underwent spinalsurgery to fuse his C4-C6 vertebrae. He suffers chronic C5/C6 tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia. He lost use of all four limbs and the independence he had once taken for granted. After his injury, Scott endured inpatient and later, outpatient physical and occupational therapy for six months.
After years of hoping for a breakthrough in research, Scott was selected to receive a neuroprosthetic implant to help him regain function in his right arm and hand. This neuroprosthesis uses low levels of electrical current, or Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES), to stimulate peripheral nerves that control specific muscle groups.
